Barry Rassin, Rotary International President,Describes the theme for 2018–19

For the Rotary year, July 2018–June 2019, Barry Rassin has charged Rotarians everywhere to Be the Inspiration. Here is an excerpt of his speech to the International Assembly. The video of the full address is below.

Four billion people now live with major water scarcity for at least one month a year — and that number is only going to go up as the planet gets warmer.

I live in a country where 80 percent of the land is within one meter of sea level. According to the projections we have now, we’ll see a two-meter rise in sea levels by the year 2100. That means my country is going to be gone in fifty years, along with most of the islands in the Caribbean and coastal cities and low-lying areas all over the world.

I ask all of you to Be the Inspiration to help Rotary move from reaction, to action — to take a hard look at the environmental issues that affect health and welfare around the world, and do what we can to help.

Truly sustainable service has to mean looking at everything we do as part of a larger system, a larger global ecology.

It means helping to build communities that are stronger and more resilient to the changes ahead. It means doing everything we can to make sure the good we do now is still leading to better lives tomorrow, and beyond.

I am asking you to Be the Inspiration for that to happen.

Be the Inspiration, to your clubs and your districts. Show them what we can do in Rotary, and what we can be.

Be the Inspiration, to your countries and your communities — by coming together and taking action to create lasting change.

Be the Inspiration — and together, we can, and we will, inspire the world.